Police confirm Anees arrest

A Dubai Police source yesterday confirmed the arrest of Anees Ibrahim, 42, the younger brother of Dawood Ibrahim, main accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case in India's financial hub.

Police said Anees, who has been implicated by Indian officials in the Mumbai blasts case, is wanted in Dubai for crimes including cheating and fraud.

He was arrested in Dubai on December 3, the Dubai Police source said while clarifying that Anees was arrested for committing "suspected criminal violation or offences in Dubai."

The source denied reports that Ibrahim's arrest by police here had been carried out through a Red Corner notice issued by Interpol in 1993 for Anees' arrest for his alleged involvement in the Mumbai bomb blasts.

The source said Ibrahim was being interrogated by Dubai CID officials and his case would be referred to the court if any evidence about his link to the charges are established.

The source also ruled out the possibility of handing him over to any foreign country until it's proved that Ibrahim has links to criminal activity.

Meanwhile, a senior Indian police officer has arrived here to present documents including the Interpol arrest warrant issued in Anees' name in 1993, a copy of his original Indian passport which had been revoked by Indian authorities, as well as his fingerprints and copies of several other fake passports that Anees uses while travelling, to conclusively prove he is the wanted criminal in India.

Anees uses two aliases while travelling – Shahriyar and Haji Anees, Indian home ministry sources said. It is not clear which alias he was using when he was arrested, the official from the Central Bureau of Investigation said. When asked whether Ibrahim's identity has been verified, senior CBI officer A K Gupta told Gulf News: "I am here to find out."

Commenting that the 1993 arrest warrant issued by India is still valid, Gupta said: "The 1993 warrant issued was an open ended warrant which means it is valid. Under a close ended warrant the court gives a date to arrest him and produce him. After that we have to get another warrant."

Sources said Anees was arrested in Dubai on arrival from Saudi Arabia where he had gone to perform Umrah, while Indian home ministry officials said Anees had arrived from Karachi on a fake Pakistani passport.

His arrest and CBI negotiations for his extradition were confirmed by Indian ambassador K.C. Singh in Abu Dhabi.

The ambassador told reporters that Indian authorities were officially informed of the arrest on December 5.

He said: "We have been informed that he was arrested in Dubai. A CBI official, the investigating officer, is already in Dubai, liaising with the Interpol, requesting to take him back to India."

"His arrest was possible due to the cooperation between the two countries, which has already led to the extradition of Aftab Ansari and Rajendera and Muttappa Rai. Similarly we launched an all-India hunt for an accused wanted in the UAE and arrested and deported her," Singh said.

The ambassador was referring to UAE national Roshan Aseed Ansari, who was wanted for a murder in Dubai.

Singh said the arrest was officially confirmed by Indian Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, who will soon make a statement in Parliament on the arrest and extradition. Advani also praised the UAE's cooperation for arresting and extraditing criminals wanted in India.

In Mumbai, the arrest of Anees has raised hopes of extraditing one of the prime accused in the Mumbai 1993 serial bomb blasts who also faces a dozen serious charges of murder and extortion.

The Mumbai Police and CBI which has a dossier of his crimes, is hopeful he can stand trial in the seven-year-long bomb blasts case in the court of the Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Preven-tion) Act (Tada), apart from being tried for various other charges.

"He has been charged with conspiracy in the serial bomb blasts case for which the punishment is death penalty," Ujjwal Nikam, Special Public Prose-cutor in the trial of the bomb blasts, told Gulf News.

Following news of his arrest, Maharashtra state's Deputy Chief Minister, in charge of home, Chhagan Bhujbal, told the media that the arrest of the gangster will lead to a fall in the crime rate in Mumbai, "where such gangsters were calling the shots."

Officials in India indicated that Anees' arrest followed a tip off by a rival called Salim Arabi, an associate of mafia don Abu Salem, who had tipped off the local police about Ibrahim to avenge the arrest of Salem in Lisbon, Portugal.

"It is believed that Dawood tipped off the Portuguese authorities about Salem's presence in Lisbon," after which he was arrested. The Indian authorities in New Delhi believe Anees arrived in Dubai on November 27 from Pakistan and was taken in on December 3.

While the Indian Home Ministry is upbeat about extraditing Anees, citing the example of another mafia don Aftab Ansari who was extradited to India for involvement in the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata, the CBI admit that "getting Anees extradited will be tougher if not impossible" as Indian officials must convince authorities in the UAE that he is actually an Indian national.

India and the UAE have signed an extradition treaty, which has been effective since October 1999.

Dawood, Anees and their family members fled India in 1993 following the serial blasts in Mumbai along with Abu Salem, who is currently in custody at Lisbon after having been arrested there with his filmstar wife Monica Bedi in August this year.

Anees is accused by Indian officials of having played a key role in the Mumbai serial blasts, besides facing about a dozen cases of extortion, murder and other heinous crimes in Mumbai and other parts of the country.

The CBI says that it will file a supplementary chargesheet against Anees.